Pentad of Un

Chapter 26 - Kestek

 (Please note: This chapter contains some sensitive content regarding death. Reader discretion advised.)

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     As the group drew nearer to the border that divided Woei from Quregu, Kestek had to wonder why anyone would choose to live anywhere close to the area they were trekking through.

     "This is starting to look familiar," Shayrow remarked, gazing around at the heath that they were edging into.

     "This is where you lived?" Kestek gaped at the dhampyr.

     Shayrow gave a nod.

     "A bit closer to the border, but yes—I grew up in this general area." He shielded his eyes from the sun as he gazed out at the horizon. "We'll pass through the town on this route, in fact."

     "Well, that should be interesting," Luss said. "Seeing where you grew up, I mean."

     Shayrow gave a tight smile.

     "Have you lost any of your accent?" Kestek wondered. "Or does everyone in Quregu talk like you do?"

     "I'm sure my accent has thinned out over the years," Shayrow said, shrugging a shoulder. "I don't have to be nearly as careful in my speech as I used to in order to be understood."

     "Wow, I wish I could've heard the way you used to talk," Luss joked.

     They continued onward in silence for a while. Kestek tried to ignore the sharp gusts of wind that were cutting into her skin, but it was hard to ignore it when her wings kept getting turned into sails that nearly knocked her off of her feet.

     Annoyed, she folded back her wings and turned her cloak so that the opening was in the front instead of in the back.

     "Is it just me, or is it getting colder out here?" Jelro said.

     "Well, just 'cuz you said that!" Luss pulled his cloak more tightly around himself.

     "We have been going up in altitude," Shayrow noted. "But this is nothing compared to what it's like in Iash—let alone in Oodb."

     "I guess we'd better enjoy it before we're stuck going through a desert," Kestek grumbled.

     "Do you think we'll run into any beasts out here?" Adif wondered.

     Everyone looked at Shayrow.

     The dhampyr shrugged.

     "The worst we might see will most likely be fowves or imps," he said. "At least, during the day."

     "What about at night?" Jelro inquired.

     "I can't say for certain." Shayrow's gaze turned distant. "I was never allowed outside after dark."

     Kestek didn't like the implications of that statement.

     "Well," Adif tentatively said, "maybe we should get to know each other a bit more while we walk?"

     "I suppose some friendly conversation wouldn't hurt," Shayrow agreed. "We might as well."

     "Conversation about what?" Kestek frowned.

     "If you had to choose one food to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?"

     "Okay—what is it with your obsession with food?" Kestek gave Luss a look.